PRIMUS Has Already 'Done A Lot Of Recording' For Upcoming Album, Says New Drummer JOHN HOFFMAN

In a new interview with Luke Poling of Rock 'N' Roll Grad School, PRIMUS drummer John Hoffman, who joined the band in 2025 after beating out more than 6,100 applicants in a global audition process dubbed the "Interstellar Drum Derby", was asked if he and his bandmates are done recording their new album. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "No, we are not. We've recorded a few songs, like we just put out 'The Ol' Grizz' [on the 'A Handful Of Nuggs' EP, which came out in May]. And then we did a cover of [DIO's] 'Holy Diver' featuring Puddles Pity Party on vocals. And we did 'Little Lord Fentanyl' last year, which was actually part of my audition process. I was thrown that song as part of the audition, and I had one night to come up with my drum parts. And same with Gergő [Borlai], who was the other drummer in the finals. It was part of his process, too. And we each had the ability to kind of show what we would bring to the table in a recording situation. And, thankfully for me, the guys liked what I came up with. And a lot of people don't realize this, but the drum part that's on 'Little Lord Fentanyl' is the actual drum part that I played during my audition, for the 'Drum Derby'. So what you're hearing on that song is me nervously trying to get through the song with these brand-new parts that I just came up with, and thankfully it worked out."

Asked if he knew at the time when he first recorded his parts for "Little Lord Fentanyl" that it would be officially released in its original version, John said: "I didn't know that they were gonna release the song the way that they did. At the time, I was just looking at it as just another part of the test. It was like the final test, really, because at that point, I submitted all of my stuff through the Internet, and that took a couple of months from the time that they announced that they were looking for a drummer until the auditions started. So I had been in kind of correspondence with people, the management mostly, up to that point, and then I had my initial audition in Los Angeles, and then from there, the final audition, which was a three-day process. So by the time I got to that part, where I'm recording the song, I had already been through quite a bit of audition process at that point, so it just felt kind of like the final test. But I do think it's cool that we ended up using the actual drum part from that time because it's almost like an imprint, a photograph of what was going on at that exact moment."

Circling back to where PRIMUS is in the recording process at the moment, John said: "We've done a lot of recording. At this point I feel like it's been a lot of sort of just coming up with riffs and seeing kind of what sticks, and also spending a lot of time in the room with [bassist/vocalist] Les [Claypool] and [guitarist] Larry [LaLonde] to just get on their level and have me become completely the drummer that they want and that they're looking for and they can work with without having to think about anything. You have to spend time. You can't usually just jump into a room, especially with guys like that, on their level, as creative as they are, as used to doing things their own way as they are. It's a process. Not that it's been difficult, but like I say, I feel like a lot of the recording process up to this point has been more of a getting to know you as opposed to this is what we're gonna show the world."

"The Ol' Grizz" finds Claypool, LaLonde and Hoffman locking into the kind of twisted rhythmic chemistry that has long defined PRIMUS — shifting between high-speed bass runs, warped psychedelic textures, and explosive percussion with the band's unmistakable mix of technical precision and off-center groove.

"A Handful Of Nuggs" also features PRIMUS's cover of DIO's "Holy Diver", sung by Puddles Pity Party, alongside two recent fan favorites from the band's current era: "Little Lord Fentanyl" featuring Maynard James Keenan (TOOL) and "Duchess (And The Proverbial Mind Spread)", recorded live at the Mann Music Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Puddles Pity Party is the singing clown persona of Michael Geier.

Written by late metal icon Ronnie James Dio, "Holy Diver" served as the lead single and title track to his namesake band DIO's 1983 debut album.

Hoffman is a Shreveport native whose deep pocket, wild musical mind, and immediate chemistry with Claypool and LaLonde made him the clear choice for PRIMUS.

Earlier this year, PRIMUS hit the road in the U.S. with the "Claypool Gold Tour", banding together three of bassist and bandleader Les Claypool's beloved outfits for an unprecedented collaborative outing. From May 20 to July 4, PRIMUS, THE CLAYPOOL LENNON DELIRIUM and LES CLAYPOOL'S FEARLESS FLYING FROG BRIGADE united for a 30-stop tour, promising a "mind-melting musical experience" and "fluid show featuring wildly different setlists and surprises."

Photo credit: David Miller